UF soccer off to 3-0 start after shutout victory over FAU

The Gators (3-0) defeated their third straight in-state opponent 3-0 in front of 1,439 fans on an overcast day. Florida Atlantic (0-2) had no answer for UF's speed and versatility on offense.

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The calm, steady stream of rain before the match wasn't enough to slow down the No. 9 Florida soccer team.The Gators (3-0) defeated their third straight in-state opponent 3-0 in front of 1,439 fans on an overcast day. Florida Atlantic (0-2) had no answer for UF's speed and versatility on offense.Three different Gators scored in the first 14 minutes, and the Owls were so busy defending they could only muster two shots on goal in the first half comparedto the 11 shots on goal Florida had.“I thought it showed a lot of maturity in our team for them to start out very quickly,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said. “We knew that this was going to be a tough team to break down defensively, but we also knew the quickest way we could do that is get on the board early.”Redshirt sophomore McKenzie Barney drew first blood three minutes in with help from freshmanTaylor Travis and junior Tahnai Annis.“It was awesome, we all knew right away that it was our game once we scored that goal,” Barney said.Annis back heeled a ball to Travis, who threaded the needle through two defenders on a pass to Barney, who nailed it in from seven yards out. FAU goalkeeper Ashley Lantes got a hand on it, but it wasn't enough and the ball found its way in the back of the net. It marked Barney's fifth consecutive home appearancewith a goal, and it was her second goal of the young season.“It was our goal of the game,” Barney said. “We knew that if we scored an early goal, it would open the floodgates. The first 10 minutes, we turned around and we were like “all right, we're in the fourth minute, we gotta get one — we only have six minutes left.' It was a legit goal we were trying to accomplish.”Annis scored her goal three minutes later on a cross from Nicky Kit that left Annis with a three-yard header at the far post. It's the third goal this season for the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week after she scored two goals in a win over then-No. 25 UCF on Sunday.After back-to-back corner kicks, UF finished its scoring for the evening in the 14th minute with a tap-in rebound goal as sophomore Natalia Torosian successfully followed the deflection off the post of her first shot.Despite their lead, the Gators continued to look for further offense and finished with 21 shots on goal — the most through three games this season.UF didn't fail to recognize FAU came back from a 3-0 deficit on Aug. 20 against Stetson. That thought kept the Gators pushing forward.“We mentioned that fact and the big thing for us is just to make sure that we still keep doing the things that get us there,” Burleigh said.The Gators used a slew of substitutions to get the younger faces on the field, but the Owls couldn't find any spark in the second half — their four shots on goal are the fewest for a Florida opponent thus far.For the match, Florida's Katie Fraine recorded three saves. Lantes, FAU's starting goalkeeper, turned in one save. She was replaced by Courtney Zwetsch in the 19th minute and Zwetsch tallied seven saves.Florida continues home play on Sunday, at 1:30 p.m. for its first meeting with San Diego State. The Aztecs are the defendingMountain West Conference tournamentchampions, as they posted an overall record of 15-4-5 and 5-0-2 in MWC play. San Diego State (1-2, 0-0 MWC) lost 2-0 at UCF on Friday. The match can be heard on AM-850.